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#4. Houston Alexander (UFC record: 2-4)
When top-ranked light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine was matched with the unknown Houston Alexander at UFC 71 in 2007, the entire UFC fanbase was stunned. After all, Jardine was coming off a win over Forrest Griffin and looked all set to charge into title contention. Alexander, meanwhile, had never fought in the UFC, and was better known for his other career as a radio DJ.
But incredibly, despite being dropped in the opening seconds, Alexander came roaring back and battered Jardine with strikes from the clinch, knocking him out in just 49 seconds.
The win turned ‘The Assassin’ into an overnight sensation, and when he followed that win up with another thunderous KO of Alessio Sakara, it seemed like the UFC had stumbled onto a new breakout superstar.
Despite Alexander quickly becoming a viral star, hardcore UFC fans were still suspicious about whether he could really live up to the hype. And unfortunately, they were quickly proven right.
‘The Assassin’ was dismantled by Thiago Silva in the co-main event of UFC 78, stopping his hype train dead just six months after the Jardine knockout. And when Alexander then lost to James Irvin and Eric Schafer, he found himself outside the UFC only a year after he’d looked like the next big thing.
Alexander would make a return to the octagon in 2009, but only for an uninspiring loss to Kimbo Slice of all people, and after that fight he was once again released. He has not returned to the UFC since and last fought in 2017.
#3. Ryan Jimmo (UFC record: 3-4)
For many years, Canada’s Ryan Jimmo was known as one of the best fighters to not be part of the UFC’s roster. By 2012 he’d built up an impressive record of 16-1, but his reputation for dull fights meant that the UFC seemed wary of signing him.
Eventually, the promotion cracked and brought him into the octagon and, to everyone’s surprise, ‘The Big Deal’ unleashed one of the best knockouts ever seen in the UFC.
In one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, Jimmo turned out the lights on Anthony Perosh at UFC 149 in just seven seconds with a big right hand, before then celebrating by doing the famed “robot” dance.
The Canadian became an instant sensation with UFC fans, who were immediately clamoring to see him fight again, despite the protests of hardcore fans who were adamant that ‘The Big Deal’ didn’t always fight that way.
And when Jimmo dropped James Te Huna with a head kick in the early moments of his second UFC fight, it looked like the promotion had unearthed a superstar. Unfortunately though, the Canadian failed to put Te Huna away and lost the bout via a unanimous decision.
And from there, while he won two more UFC bouts, Jimmo simply couldn’t live up to the standards of his debut knockout. He was washed out of the UFC in 2015 off the back of two straight losses, and then sadly passed away following a hit-and-run incident a year later.
